Profit Booking Brings Key Indices Back In Red

Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Friday due to profit-taking in IT shares and Bharti Airtel after a sharp rally in the previous session. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 200.15 points or 0.24 per cent to settle at 82,330.59. During the day, it lost 383.79 points or 0.46 per cent to 82,146.95. The NSE Nifty dropped 42.30 points or 0.17 per cent to 25,019.80. Bharti Airtel dropped by 2.81 per cent after Singtel sold about 1.2 per cent of its direct stake in the firm for around $1.5 billion in sync with its active capital management approach to optimise its asset portfolio and drive shareholder returns sustainably. The market capitalisation (mcap) of BSE-listed companies rose by Rs2.65 lakh crore to Rs4,42,84,829.05 cr (Rs442.84 lakh cr or $5.18 trn).

“Markets languished in negative territory throughout the trading session and ended weak due to selective profit-taking in IT, banking and metal shares. However, broader indices like mid- and small-cap indices coupled with most sectoral stocks ending in positive territory show that investors are cautiously optimistic on equities, despite global uncertainties,” said Prashanth Tapse, senior V-P (research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 1.18 per cent and midcap index climbed 0.85 per cent.

“Markets traded lackluster after Thursday’s surge and ended marginally lower, in the absence of any fresh triggers. The tone remained subdued from the outset, with consolidation in heavyweight stocks across sectors capping the move throughout the session,” Ajit Mishra, Sr V-P (research), Religare Broking Ltd.

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark gauge jumped 2,876.12 points or 3.61 per cent, and the Nifty surged 1,011.8 points or 4.21 per cent.

Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Investments Ltd, stated that “investor sentiment remained upbeat, with sustained momentum in mid- and small-cap stocks, as well as rate-sensitive sectors such as real estate, NBFCs, automobiles, and consumer durables.”

HCL Tech, State Bank of India, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra and Titan were also among the losers in the Sensex pack. Eternal, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, ITC, Tata Motors and NTPC were among the gainers.

Among sectoral indices, industrials surged the most by 1.80 per cent, followed by realty (1.72 per cent), capital goods (1.63 per cent), utilities (1.44 per cent), power (1.37 per cent) and consumer discretionary (0.87 per cent).